Steering Wheel Shaking-Stumped

[rentfrow1]

I am currently trying to figure out the cause of my steering wheel shaking on the highway (60-80mph). It started, or at least go a lot worse after I replaced most of the suspension components.

• 4 Struts (KYB)
• Control Arms
• Outer Tie Rod Ends
• Front Strut Mounts

It feels like I have a wheel out of balance, but I have taken it to two different tire shops and they have both told me that all the tires are perfectly balanced. The second shop also checked the road force on the front tires for free. The tires have about 18k miles on them (Goodyear Eagle GT 205/60R15). Also, the brakes do not pulse at all, so it can't be that. I also have the prothane torque strut inserts, but I don't think that would cause the problem. Anyone have any ideas? I am stumped.

[quantumech]

Pretty much exactly what I've been dealing with for about a year now. My Goodyear tires (Assurance comfort tred) with similar mileage seem to doing the same thing to me. Also started after replacing similar parts (got my rod ends and ball joints from the guy in Canada, where did you get yours?). My road force showed the same, except the right rear was a little off.

Nobody can find anything wrong while giving it a look-over/prying with various sized bars in various places (they did find a couple bad motor mounts though).

How is your alignment (probably won't do anything though, if it's the same). I've been suspecting it's just the tires now, so when I can't stand it anymore, will just throw them away and get something different. And hope that fixes it.

[rentfrow1]

My control arms and tie rod ends came from the same guy in Canada off of Ebay.

Right now I am looking at performing the steering rack adjustment to see if that helps, but I don't have the wrench to loosen the lock nut.

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...ack+adjustment

6th post

[mr18436572]

Cant hurt to rotate front to back and see what happens.

I dont really like Goodyear tires.

[KingRex]

You made no mention of new tires, so I have to assume you still have the old tires on there that was there with the old suspension hardware.

Run your hand around the tires, over the tread, does it feel smooth all the way around? or does it feel rough, like it had little edges on it, and feels bumpy?

What it sounds like you have is chopped tires from the old crappy suspension hardware. The struts were probably not working correctly and the tires would bounce on the road, kind of like a basketball, and in doing so, it chopped the tread up.

Replace the tires before you replace anything else. There is a lot that can go wrong with a tire and not really show, but will only show at higher speeds.

[PlasticCarsRock]

Originally Posted by KingRex

You made no mention of new tires, so I have to assume you still have the old tires on there that was there with the old suspension hardware.

Run your hand around the tires, over the tread, does it feel smooth all the way around? or does it feel rough, like it had little edges on it, and feels bumpy?

What it sounds like you have is chopped tires from the old crappy suspension hardware. The struts were probably not working correctly and the tires would bounce on the road, kind of like a basketball, and in doing so, it chopped the tread up.

Replace the tires before you replace anything else. There is a lot that can go wrong with a tire and not really show, but will only show at higher speeds.

I cupped two of my tires by driving with worn sway bar bushings. My biggest symptom that something was wrong was a "throbbing" at 15-20mph (due to the cupped tires, not the bushings), but I also had a bit of a steering wheel vibration on the highway. There was barely any visible change to the tires. Do you have anything like this?

[rentfrow1]

I really don't think the problem is the tires. They only have about 18k miles on them, and I have had them balanced and rotated multiple times. I also took them to a second tire shop (Tire Rack.com recommended installer), and they ran the front tires on their road force balancing machine that can detect most problems caused by bad tires. Both tires were perfect. Also, when I replaced the suspension components the OEM parts were not very bad (120k miles), at least not bad enough to cause the tires to wear unevenly. The ball joints were not stiff like new ones, but they were not sloppy yet.

Anyway, yesterday I discovered that I can hear a clunking sound if I shake the steering wheel side-to-side with the car stationary and engine off. I have not had time to look more closely at it yet. I have a feeling that tightening up the rest of the suspension aggravated a problem that was already there.

On that note, does anyone know what I can use to loosen the locknut to adjust the lash in the steering. I could not find anything that would fit around it that I could still turn in that tight area.

Thanks

[sdheavymetal]

What was the road force numbers? They are in lbs. Put the ones with the lowest in the front. Most cars are ok with 15lbs or less. Some cars (Cadillac Deville likes 10lbs or less)

[PlasticCarsRock]

Clunking in the steering sounds like a tie rod end (or possibly a problem in the steering rack). My guess is an inner tie rod end. Lay under the car (put it on ramps or jack stands), and watch/feel the motion in the steering components as someone gently turns the wheel. It's more accurate with the wheels off (on jack stands), but even with the wheels on ramps, you should be able to get an idea of what's loose.

[rentfrow1]

Originally Posted by PlasticCarsRock

Clunking in the steering sounds like a tie rod end (or possibly a problem in the steering rack). My guess is an inner tie rod end. Lay under the car (put it on ramps or jack stands), and watch/feel the motion in the steering components as someone gently turns the wheel. It's more accurate with the wheels off (on jack stands), but even with the wheels on ramps, you should be able to get an idea of what's loose.

That's my plan. I just haven't had a chance yet. The inner tie rod ends are good enough that the tie rods stay where you put them when disconnected (don't fall down). I checked them when I replaced the other parts.

[rentfrow1]

Ok, the clunking/clicking sound from shaking the steering wheel is definitely coming from the rack and pinion area, and I don't think it is the steering shaft. So, what can I use to break the locknut on the adjustment plug loose? I am thinking maybe large channel lock pliers, but I still don't know if I will be able to reach. My goal is to avoid buying a $50 crow's foot wrench.